All of us that were there will remember Sunday, January 24, 2010.

Because this was the day that our guests were lined up all the way around the corner as The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank opened our doors to supply food for every single hungry pet that we possibly could; while nourishing their human families at the same time. And that meant in just three short hours we were honored to provide more than 13,000 quality meals for the 465 dog and cat family members of 135 families.

What began as an effort little more than two years ago to feed two hungry dogs underneath the Morrison Bridge has blossomed into Oregon’s largest single charitable effort dedicated to providing quality dog and cat food for the family pets of anyone in honest need; nearly 250,000 meals to date. Simply put, there were 465 dogs and cats that had excellent food for their Sunday night dinner thanks to our incredibly generous donors at Canidae All Natural Pet Foods and Dogswell.

But it’s really so much more than that. Because those 435 family pets belong to 135 families; families that often go to bed hungry because they feed their own dinner to their pets. But on this Sunday night they went to bed with the comfort of knowing that their family pets had also received a good dinner. And that there was still plenty of food left for breakfast, and for weeks after.

Our dedicated Team Pongo volunteers worked harder on this date than anyone would ever expect from a Sunday volunteer opportunity. And they share in the credit for this great day right along with each of the 135 families that stood in the rain because they love their pets like family. To Nancy, Kathy, David, Janet, Bryan, Kim, Jim, Tanya, Tad, Shannon, Michael, Crystal, Jody, Laura, Laurie, Stephanie, Christina, Nike, Becky, Greg, John, Michelle, Karen, Katie, Kelly, Lanna and Lesley…thank you for giving of your day and opening your hearts to treat each and every one of our guests with kindness and respect.

Because of you, it was an excellent day.

The following email was received from one of our Team Pongo volunteers; I think it sums things up well:

Dear Larry,

I just wanted to tell you my thoughts for the day. I have never before shared so many conversations with our recipients, and felt that today was the best day ever. One person shared how their pets had finally stopped panicking at feeding time; that their food hoarding and vomiting due to frenzy eating had stopped because they knew that tomorrow would bring more food. Another man without food cried and told me stories about how his two 14 year old cats depended on him and made him get out of bed every day and move forward even under tremendous challenges, and how fortunate he felt to receive food to feed them. Two people came in after having the hell kicked out of them by their abusers just the night before, just so that their animals were fed today. One lovely older woman teared up and confessed that she never thought that she would be in the situation that she is in today. Her son cried and thanked me for our assistance with pure blessings from his heart. They never saw their situation coming; going from affluence to assistance. But when they come here they’re treated with dignity. If I could tell you every story that I heard today I think you would understand that The Pongo Fund is on the right path and that we are fulfilling a special and much needed mission of our times. Thank you for letting us be a part of it.

SF

Thank you to everyone for caring about the hungry animals, and their people families too…Larry, Friend of Pongo

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”  Mohandas Gandhi